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STATES: GUJARAT
Bird's Eye View
The court rescues a wetland and practically ends the plunder
of homes of migratory birds in the state
It is neither as
big as the 1,100-sq km Chilika lake nor does it get the exquisite Siberian
cranes as visitors like the Keoladeo National Park does. And it doesn't
appear in the list of wetlands to be conserved under the 1971 Ramsar Convention
on Wetlands to which India is a signatory. Perhaps it doesn't figure in
any list. But a recent court decision could be a model for those waging
a war to conserve wetlands-the life-support of the myriad flora and fauna
in the ecosystem-all across India.
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THEN Gopalnagar lake was home to a large number of rare
migratory birds
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NOW The dry bed after builders drained the lake for cultivation
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Last week the Gujarat High Court thwarted a bid
by builders to construct residential buildings on Gopalnagar lake near
Kalol, 30 km from Ahmedabad. More significantly, the two-judge bench comprising
Chief Justice D.M. Dharmadhikari and Justice K.R. Vyas has practically
ended the plunder of wetlands in Gujarat by directing the state Government
to set up a Gujarat Wildlife Advisory Board (GWAB) within a month. The
board, which will comprise 10 government representatives and 10 other
people, is expected to look after and decide on matters related to water
bodies and bird sanctuaries as prescribed by the Wildlife Protection Act,
1972. Says Lalsinh Raol, an Ahmedabad-based ornithologist: "It is
a landmark judgement that will go a long way in saving wetlands."
The 2.5 sq km lake is home to a large number
of migratory species. Apart from the 5,000-odd flamingoes that inhabit
the lakes for up to seven months a year, pelicans, Brahmani ducks and
Iranian geese from around the world visit the lake. The issue of its conservation,
however, came into the limelight only in March last year when Biren Padhya,
a young birdwatcher, took on the might of the constructors' lobby which
was keen to build residential quarters after drying the lake. He filed
a petition challenging the builders and the state Forest Department for
being hand-in-glove with them. At the same time, another birdwatcher,
Sandip Brahmbhatt, also approached the court.
The
verdict has brought into focus the dubious role of the Forest
Department.
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The builders-Nayan Patel, Bharat Patel, Kirti
Patel and 11 others-claimed that for years the lake had been part of an
agricultural land and that the area figured in the Ahmedabad Urban Development
Authority's (AUDA) residential plan. But people living around the lake
contended that Gopalnagar lake was perennial till last year, when the
builders closed all water inlets to the lake, drained it and gave it for
cultivation. Padhya and Brahmbhatt, who painstakingly gathered facts on
the lake, produced satellite pictures that showed the presence of a lake.
The judgement has now brought into focus the
dubious role of government agencies like the Forest Department and urban
development authorities. "The question this case has raised is whether
the Forest Department is doing its duty of protecting the environment
or whether it has become a handmaiden to land sharks," says Padhya,
who did not receive much support from NGOs in his fight. "Most of
the NGOs proved to be nothing but paper tigers," says the campaigner.
The court has now directed the state Government
to ask AUDA to revise its development plans in order to ensure the safety
of the wetlands. It has ruled that the revised plans should undergo the
scrutiny of GWAB, which has to report on the Gopalnagar case to the court
within two months.
Ahmedabad had 125-odd lakes 40 years ago, of
which only 12 remain. But their plunder has continued, particularly after
the January 26 quake when more than 100 buildings either collapsed because
they were built on soft surfaces created after reclaiming lakes or were
demolished later for safety reasons. The decision augurs well for the
protection of what is left in the state, which none other than Salim Ali-India's
most famous ornithologist-called the "kingdom of migratory birds".
—Uday Mahurkar
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